Dawgs come up short against Williamston

Thursday

Feb 28, 2013 at 11:54 PMFeb 28, 2013 at 11:57 PM

Early struggles put Ionia in hole in home finale

By Andrew Robertsandrew.roberts@sentinel-standard.com

The Ionia boys basketball team made a second-quarter run to get back into its home finale against Williamston Thursday night, but the Bulldogs were unable to complete the comeback as they fell to the Hornets 72-61.

Along with the game being the final one on the Ionia schedule, it was also the last home game for seniors Mike Cory, Austin Wolcott, Tim Wohlfert, Rudi McWhirr and Jordan Miller.

Despite the loss, Ionia coach Scott Swinehart said he was happy with his players' effort after falling behind 15-0 in the first quarter.

"The guys didn't quit and they kept battling," he said. "We cut it to four and then missed on a three, but then Williamston was able to push the lead back and we couldn't get any stops down the stretch."

The Hornets held the Bulldogs scoreless for the first 5:30 of the game to open with a 15-0 run. Corey finally got the Dawgs on the board with a layup with 2:30 left.

In the second, Ionia started to chip away at their deficit as they started the quarter on a 12-6 run. The Bulldogs outscored Williamston 22-15 in the second to make it a 35-28 game at the break.

"Early on we were getting some open shots, but weren't hitting them," Swinehart said. "Their size caused us some problems and we got a little tentative.

"Once we got the lid off the basket, I thought we played well on offense."The Hornets were able to add to their advantage in the third, building a 54-43 lead into the final quarter.

Austin Gregory paced Ionia with 28 points, while Bryce Cashner finished with 19 and Zac Barna chipped in with four.

The Bulldogs (3-17) will open postseason play on Wednesday night when they travel to Portland to take on the Raiders in the district semifinals.